Latch mechanism for car doors



May 3, 1949.

J. S. LUNDVALL LATCH MECHANISM F03 CAR DOORS Original Filed March 17, 1945 2 Shecs-Sheet 1 May 3, 1949. J. S.'LUNDVALL LATCH MECHANISM FOR CAR DOORS Original Filed.March 17, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 arz Patented May 3, 1949 2.468.936 rsrcn MECHANISM FDR can noons John S, Lundvall,

Union Asbestos corporation of Illinois Original application March 17, 1943, Serial No.

479,422. Divided and this application Septemllt 1944, Serial N 3,530

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to latch mechanism for car doors and more particularly to a latch mechanism for holding a longitudinally slidable refrigerator car door against longitudinal movement.

.6 0 the objects of the invention is to provide a latch mechanism for use on a refrigerator car door which will hold the door against longitudinal movement while permitting free lateral movement of the door toward and away from an opening in the car wall.

Another object of the invention is to provide a latch mechanism which will automatically engage when the car door is in register with the door opening and which must be manually disengaged before further longitudinal movement of the door can be produced.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a latch mechanism which is urged toward engagement by gravity. Preferably an operating member is employed whose weight urges the latch toward engagement and which can readily be grasped by an operator to disengage the latch.

The above and other objects and advantages of.

the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a partial side elevation of a refrigerator car having a door equipped with the latch mechanism of the invention;

Figure 2 is a partial section on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged partial section on the line 3--3 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged partial elevation of the latch mechanism.

The car as shown in the drawings is provided with a longitudinally slidable door of the type more particularly described and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 479,422 filed March 17, 1943, now abandoned, of which this application is a division. As shown, the car has a side wall it formed with an opening ll upon which a door I2 is adapted to seat. The door I2 is slidably supported on an upper track l3 and a lower track M for sliding movement longitudinally of the car. For this purpose the edges of the door are rotatably connected to the vertical pivot rods l5 which are offset or cranked at their upper and lower ends. The pivot rods carry blocks or rollers indicated generally at it: slidably engaging the tracks so that the door may be moved freely.

In order to move the door toward and away from the openin I l the pivot rods l5 are adapted Park id I1!!! es iga r to & Rubber 60., Chicago 111., a

to be rotated by handles ll pivotally connected to the rods. As the handles are swung to turn the rods the door will move laterally toward and away from the opening H. The handles I! may be held in position by latch mechanism l8 as more particularly described in application, Serial No. 479,422.

In order to hold the door against longitudinal movement it is provided with a latch mechanism as shown in detail in Figures 3 and 4 comprising an angular latch member 2| pivoted at one end on brackets 22 at the lower part of the door l2. The lower end of the latch member projects vertically downward from the lower edge of the door and is adapted to engage between tapered abutments 23 secured to the lower track adjacent the lower edge of the door. The abutments taper from their central portions toward their outer ends as best seen in Figure 2 so that as the door is moved longitudinally, the latch member will ride up over the abutments and drop between them to prevent further longitudinal movement of the door. Preferably two such sets of abutments are provided as shown in Figure 1 to hold the door in either a position to register with the opening I l or in a position completely out of register with the opening. The latch member is normally urged toward its engaged position by an operating member 24 slidably supported on the door by means of a pin 25 passing thru a vertical slot in the operating member. The operating member is pivoted to the latch member at a point 26 intermediate the ends of the latch member so that the weight of the operating member urges the latch member clockwise to a position to engage the abutments 23. The operating member is preferably provided with a finger opening 21 by which it may easily be raised by an operator to disengage the latch.

In normal operation when the latch member 2| is engaged'between the abutments 23 the door may be moved laterally toward and away from the opening II without disengaging the latch member from the abutments. By properly 1ocating the abutments and the latch member, the latch mechanism guides the door properly toward the opening so that the door edges will engage the sides of the opening squarely and will not slide over and damage them. When the door is in its outermost position away from the opening, the latch member will be still in engagement with the abutments but by raising the operating member 24 the lower end of the latch member will be swung upwardly as shown in dotted lines in Figure 3 to clear the abutments. The door may then be moved longitudinally on the tracks. When the door is moved to a position to bring the latch member into engagement with either set of abutments, the lower end of the latch member will ride up over the tapering surface of the adjacent abutment and will drop between the abutments to lock the door against further longitudinal movement.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail herein, it will be understood that this is illustrative only and is not intended as definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A latch device for a refrigerator car door movable longitudinally of the car and laterally toward and away from an opening in the car which comprises a latch member having a horizontal connecting arm pivotally secured at one end to the lower part of the door and extending outward therefrom and a vertical depending latching arm extending downwardly from the outer end of said horizontal connecting arm, said depending latching arm adapted to be received between a pair of spaced abutments adjacent to the lower horizontal edge of the door, and an operating member pivotally secured to the latch member adjacent the junction of the connecting arm and the latching arm and adapted when raised to move the latching arm away from the spaced abutments to permit longitudinal movement of the door, said operating member being slidably connected to the door and supported vertically by the latch member so that its weight urges the latch member toward the abutments.

JOHN S. LUNDVALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: v 

